Blank feeder for a bottom sealing machine



Dec. 17, 1968 c. ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 16 Sheets-Sheet 1 .uimh

I f BY 451/420 5 MOE/V M {M 1968 1.. c. ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 INVENTORS AAWQEA/CZ' 6: 2053/52 BY ZE/V40 5. 4/05 {M ,drraezv-fl Dec. 17, 1968 L. c. ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE 16 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 Dec. 17, 1968 c, ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 INVENTORJ' ZAI Vf/VKE'C mam 5e BY 401/420 5. MOE/V #dud- ,47'70/V5K' L. c. ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Dec. 17, 1968 16 Sheets-Sheet .5

Original Filed Jan. 2 7, 1965 5 INVENTORS z AWQEMEC. .OEJA/[ BY 45/1/1420 5 Moi/v lrrae/vaf Dec. 17, 1968 c, ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 e w? I Q WWO ms AIME. W5 5 NNk m 20 W aw W QWM Nmv Qmm 4 NM 4 Qmw 3m. m i; E w NEE \vum W m E w E Q M $3 N NMM NEE MEN mm\ S www Q 0 EN nmmzmmm Q mxw .O o o l W c o N\\ Q QM N WNW .Q NQN QM; Y Nmv QNN WE m E. NE mkw W m hq Dec. 17, 1968 L. c. ROESNER ET BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 16 Sheets-Sheet 7 w m WWW w w. E me m a0 0 [M v wmwz E: M B Z 1968 c. ROESNER ET AL 3,416,789

' BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 16 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR: AAWE /VCE a: @055/1/5/2 BY 467M420 5, 4/05/11 Dec. 17, 1968 c. ROESNER E AL BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 9 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 INVENTORY MW&'/VC5CI 205M152 BY 15/144 20 5 Mdf/v ML a Q 2 Q z w M z z r. AJ 3 A a g Dec. 17, 1968 c. ROESNER ETAL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27. 1965 1a Sheets-Sheet 10 INVENTOR5- 7% 4414/25/1/65 a. 2051/1/52 BY zen/42.0 4-: MOE/V Dec. 17,1968 L. CIROEENEER VETAL I 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 16 Sheets-Sheet 11 INVENTORI 44 Wei/v65 CI 205.9%? BY 457M482 5. Mai/v drroe/va Dec. 17, 1968 L. c. ROESNER ET AL BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 16 Sheets-Sheet 12" z W5 5 3 w amem m 4 MeY 4MB 4. Z w? W w i 4\ l I M a g I WWIZI :4 a /6 W Mm M 3 K a h m i u Dec. 17, 1968 c. ROESNER ETAL BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE 1 6 Sheets-Sheet 15 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 INVENTORJ' C: 805.37%?

, ilt I L4W-7VCE L. C. ROESNER ET AL BLANK FEEDER FOR A'BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Dec. 17, 1968 16 Sheets-Sheet 14 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 INVENTOR: MWQE/VCE CLQOEJ/VEZ AE/V420 E MOEW Dec. 17, 1968 c. ROESNER ETAL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 v 16 Sheets-Sheet 15 lLulufiumlm Q A INVENTORJ' A,4/ V@7V(E 61 205571458 6. BY 454442.05 M05 flaa 22 /M Dec. 17, 1968 Q RO'ESNER ET AL 3,416,789

BLANK FEEDER FOR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE l6 Sheets-Sheet 16 Original Filed Jan. 27, 1965 WWW m M 2 5 Mi w C0 J? m i r 7 MN 4 z United States Patent 3,416,789 BLANK FEEDER FGR A BOTTOM SEALING MACHINE Lawrence C. Roesner, Downey, and Lenard E. Meon, Whittier, Calif., assignors, by mesne assignments, of thirty-six and one-fourth percent interest to Calavo Growers of California, a corporation of California Original application Jan. 27, 1965, Ser. No. 428,462, now Patent No. 3,342,116. Divided and this application Aug. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 671,518

1 Claim. (Cl. 27144) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a blank feeding station for a container assembling machine, a blank storage magazine for feeding from the bottom thereof a stack of said blanks one at a time; blank supporting means including two spaced pair of blank supporting brackets, said brackets having rear upwardly extending blank engaging extremities and forward horizontal extremities; blank ejection means below said storage magazine; and blank supporting guides disposed below said brackets whereby when said ejection means feeds the lowermost blank through an intermediate position wherein gaps between adjacent joining flaps on the sides of said blank are aligned with said rear bracket extremities, said blank drops onto said forward extremities and upon continued movement of said ejection means is cammed downwardly so as to pass between said brackets and said guides.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 428,462 filed Jan. 27, 1965, now Patent No. 3,342,116.

This invention relates generally to the art of fabricating cardboard shipping containers, particularly shipping containers of the kind disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 336,970, filed Jan. 10, 1964, now Patent No. 3,197,108, and entitled, Container With Glued Cardboard Stacking Cleats. The invention has more particular reference to a method of and means for mating the separate preformed end panels and blank which make up the shipping container of said co-pending application and erecting or folding the blank about and joining the blank to said panels in such manner as to form a container structure of the kind disclosed in said co-pending application.

During both storage and shipment, it is common practice to stack shipping containers, one upon the other, in vertical columns which may be several feet in height. To enable shipping containers to be safely stacked in this way, each container in a vertical column of stacked containers must be sufficiently strong to support the vertical load imposed thereon by the upper containers and, in addition, must provide a stable supporting base for the adjacent upper container. Some shipping containers are sufiiciently strong and their top and bottom surfaces are sufficiently flat to permit the containers to be stacked with the bottom surface of one container resting directly on the top surface of the adjacent lower container. On the other hand, the top and/or bottom surfaces of many shipping containers tend to bulge outwardly when the containers are filled. If these latter containers are stacked one on top of the other with the bottom surface of one container resting directly on the top surface of the adjacent lower container, each container can rock back and forth relative to its adjacent lower container, thereby resulting in an extremely unstable and unsafe container stack. Other containers do not possess the required strength to enable them to be stacked one on top of the other, at least to the height necessary for optimum utilization of a given storage space.

3,416,789 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 By way of example, one type of container which has been in wide-spread use for many years is known in the trade as the Bliss container. The Bliss container, in its simplest form, is fabricated from a single cardboard blank having side portions which are folded in such a way as to constitute side walls and side cover panels, and end portions which are folded in such a way as to constitute end walls and end cover panels. The blank is provided with additional tabs for securing the end and side walls together at the four corners of the container. During its fabrication, the Bliss container is initially formed, in a so-called bottom sealing operation, to a partially completed condition wherein the cover panels are left unfolded to permit the container to be .filled. After filling, the container is completed in a so-called top sealing operation during which the cover panels are folded and sealed to close the top of the container. Numerous variations of the Bliss container have been known and used in the past several decades.

While the Bliss containers have been and are currently being successfully used for many purposes, they are deficient for the reason that they often cannot be stacked to the height required by many warehousing and shipping facilities. This is due to the fact that the containers do not possess the the requisite structural strength and to the additional fact that the top and bottom surfaces of the containers, when filled, tend to bulge outwardly. As noted above, this bulging of each container prevents the latter from providing a stable support for a container resting thereon. The Bliss containers are also deficient in that when exposed to conditions of high humidity, such as are encountered in commercial freezers and refrigerators, the cardboard material of the containers becomes weak ened to the point that the containers collapse.

Containers of the kind under discussion are often used to ship produce. In this case, the containers are provided wit-h ventilation openings to permit the free circulation of air through the containers. When such produce containers are stacked, it is deisrable to have ventilation spaced between the confronting top and bottom surfaces of adjacent containers to permit the free circulation of air between the containers and through the ventilation openings in the tops and bottoms of the containers. Many produce containers are not constructed to preserve such ventilation spaces between adjacent containers in a container stack.

The stacking and ventilation requirements discussed above resulted, many years ago, in the introduction of so-called stacking cleats. Such stacking cleats comprise flat strips which are secured to the top and/or bottom of a container adjacent its ends to provide flat supporting surfaces for an adjacent upper container in a column of stacked containers. In addition, these stacking cleats space the confronting top and bottom surfaces of adjacent containers to provide ventilation passages therebetween.

Heretofore, the prevailing practice in regard to stacking cleats has been to cover containers, both of the wooden and card-board varieties, with a separate lid having wooden stacking cleats secured thereto. After a container is filled, the lid is placed over the open top of the container and is secured in position by driving nails through the cleats and lid into the container. This existing practice is quite satisfactory from the standpoint of providing containers which may be stacked to the required height with ventilation spaces between adjacent containers. However, the use of separate lids and wooden stacking cleats is undesirable from the standpoint of economy. Thus, the separate lid with its wooden stacking cleats and the nails required to secure the lid to a container represent a substantial material cost, while the labor involved in initially fabricating the lid and the cleats and subsequently nailing the lid to a container represent a substantial labor cost. These material and labor costs, of course, are in addition to the cost of the container itself and, therefore, contribute appreciably to the overall container cost. While the additional costs involved in the use of such a separate lid with wooden cleats may be small for each container, the over-all cost of equipping a large number of containers with such lids may be substantial.

The aforementioned co-pending application Ser. No. 336,970 discloses a shipping container which successfully avoids the above discussed defects of the currently available shipping containers. The container of said co-pending application is fabricated from a preformed cardboard blank and two separate preformed end wall forming panels, or end panels as they will be referred to herein. The blank is scored and perforated to form a number of longitudinal and transverse hinge lines which define on the blank a central bottom wall forming panel, two side wall forming panels outboard the bottom wall forming panel, two cover forming panels outboard of the side wall forming panels, and end panel joining flaps along opposite side edges of the bottom wall forming panel and the two side wall forming panels. The two separate end panels have a laminated construction including a wooden core and a cardboard panel bonded to the outer surfaces of the core in such manner that the upper edge portion of the cardboard panel projects a distance above the upper edge of the wooden core to define a hinged flap.

When fabricating the container, the end panels are mated with the blank by engaging the lower edges of the panels with the central bottom wall forming panel of the blank just inboard of the hinge lines of the flaps on the latter panel. Thereafter, the side wall forming panels of the blank are folded upwardly about opposite ends of the end panels, the flaps on the blank are folded inwardly against the outer surfaces of the end panels, the cover forming panels are folded inwardly across the top of the container, and, finally, the projecting flaps on the end wall forming panels are folded inwardly over the folded cover forming panels. The several folded end panel joining flaps on the blank are adhesively bonded to the outer surfaces of the end panels, and the folded flaps on the end panels are adhesively bonded to the folded cover forming panels, thereby to form a completed container. In actual practice, the container is initially formed, in a bottom sealing operation, to a partially completed condition, wherein the cover forming panels and the flaps on the end panels are left unfolded to permit the container to be filled. Thereafter, the cover forming panels and end panel flaps are folded and sealed in a top sealing operation to complete the container. In this completed container, the folded end panel flaps overlie the cover forming panels to define cardboard stacking cleats which are reinforced by the wooden cores of the end panels. It has been found that the improved shipping container of the co-pending application is uniquely capable of satisfying both the stacking and ventilation requirements referred to earlier.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a method of and a machine for performing the bottom sealing operation just referred to, thereby to partially form shipping containers of the kind disclosed in the aforesaid co-pending application Ser. No. 336,970 as well as other similar containers.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a container forming method and machine of the character described wherein a pair of end panels are mated with a preformed blank and thereafter the side wall forming panels of the blank are folded upwardly about opposite ends of the end panels and the end panel joining flaps on the blank are folded inwardly against and adhesively bonded to the outer surface of the end panels to form a partially completed container structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container forming machine of the character described which is fully automatic in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container forming machine of the character described which may be adjusted to accommodate container blanks and end panels of different sizes.

Yet a further object of the invention is to provide a container forming machine of the character described which is relatively compact, reliable in operation, easy to use, capable of high speed operation, and is otherwise ideally suited to its intended purposes.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the invention, and in the various combination of method steps involved in the invention, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bottom sealing, container forming machine according to the invention;

FIGURE 2a diagrammatically illustrates the successive container forming steps performed by the machine during its operation;

FIGURE 2b is an enlargement of two end panel joining flaps on one of the blanks shown in FIGURE 2a and illustrating the manner in which these flaps are coated with glue;

FIGURE 2c diagrammatically illustrates the forming machine itself;

FIGURE 3a is an enlarged plan view of the left-hand end of the forming machine as the latter is viewed in FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3b is an enlarged plan view of the righthand end of the machine;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged section taken on line 44 in FIGURE 3b and showing a number of preformed blanks in position on the machine;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view looking in the direction of the arrows on line 55 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6a is a section taken on line 6a6a in FIG- URE 3a;

FIGURE 6b is a section taken on line 6b-6b in FIG- URE 3b;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken on line 77 in FIG- URE 612;

FIGURE 8 is a section taken on line 88 in FIG- URE 6b;

FIGURE 8a is an enlargement of the area enclosed by the circular arrow 8a8a in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged section taken on line 9-9 in FIGURE 6a;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged section taken on line 10-10 in FIGURE 6a;

FIGURE 11 is an enlarged section taken on line 11-11 in FIGURE 6 FIGURE 12 is an enlarged section taken on line 12-12 in FIGURE 6a;

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged view, partially broken away, looking in the direction of the arrows on line 1313 in FIGURE 3a;

FIGURE 13a is a section taken on line 13a-13a in FIGURE 13;

FIGURE 14 is an enlarged section taken on line 14-14 of FIGURE 12;

FIGURE 15 is a top plan view of the forming mandrel embodied in the forming machine;

FIGURE 16 is a side elevation of the forming mandrel;

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged section taken on line 1717 in FIGURE 16;

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged section taken on line 1818 of FIGURE 16;

FIGURE 19 is an enlargement of the upper portion of FIGURE 12 with parts broken away, and illustrating the forming mandrel descending in its forming stroke to form a container;

FIGURE is an enlarged section taken on line 20-20 in FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 21 is an enlarged section taken on line 21-21 in FIGURE 19;

FIGURE 22 is an enlarged plan view of one of the end panel infeed mechanisms embodied in the forming machine;

FIGURE 23 is a view looking in the direction of the arrows on line 23-23 in FIGURE 22;

FIGURE 24 is a section taken on line 24-24 in FIG- URE 23;

FIGURE 25 is an enlarged section taken on line 25-25 in FIGURE 23;

FIGURE 26 is an enlarged section taken on line 26-26 in FIGURE 22 and illustrating a number of preformed end panels placed in the end panel infeed mechanisms;

FIGURE 27 is an enlarged section taken on line 27-27 in FIGURE 22;

FIGURE 28 is a perspective view of certain elements of the end panel infeed mechanism; and

FIGURE 29 diagrammatically illustrates the electrical and pneumatic control system of the machine.

In these drawings, the container forming machine of the invention is designated in its entirety by the reference numeral 10 and the partially completed container which is formed by the machine is designated in its entirety by the reference character C. As noted earlier, this container forms the subject matter of co-pending application Ser. No. 336,970. Accordingly, a detailed description of the container may be obtained from said co-pending application. In order to facilitate a full and complete understanding of the present invention, however, it is deemed advisable to briefly describe, at the outset, the container C and the manner in which the container is formed by the machine It).

To this end, reference is made first to FIGURE 2a which illustrates the several components of the container and diagrammatically illustrates the successive steps involved in the formation of the container by the machine. The container is constructed of three basic components, to wit, a preformed cardboard blank B and two identical, preformed end panels P The blank B has a number of transverse score lines L and L which define on the blank a central, rectangular bottom wall forming panel P two side wall forming panels P outboard of the bottom wall forming panel, and two cover forming panels P outboard of the side wall forming panels. The blank also has a series of longitudinal score lines L and L; which define end panel joining flaps F along opposite edges of the bottom wall forming panels P and additional end panel joining flaps F along opposite edges of the side wall forming panels P Each end panel P has a laminated construction and includes a central wooden plate or core W, an inner paper facing F adhesively bonded to the normally inner surface of the core, and an outer cardboard facing F adhesively bonded to the normally outer surface of the core. The outer facing of each end panel extends a distance above the normally upper edge of its respective core and has a score line L parallel to and located a small distance above said edge. For reasons which will be explained later, this spacing is approximately equal to the thickness of the cardboard blank B. The portion of the outer facing F of each end panel above its respective score line L defines an end panel flap F The successive steps involved in the operation of the machine 10 to form a container C from these three basic container components will now be briefly described. As will appear from the later description of the machine, the latter has several stations, to wit, a blank infeed station at which is maintained a supply of the preformed card-board blanks B and from which these blanks are successively fed to the machine, a gluing station which receives each blank from the infeed station and applies strips of glue to certain parts of the blank, a forming station which receives each glue-coated blank from the gluing station, a pair of end panel infeed stations at which are maintained supplies of the end panels P and from which these end panels are successively fed, in pairs, to the forming station for mating with a glue-coated blank at the forming station, and an outfeed station which receives each partially completed container C from the forming station and ejects the container from the machine. In FIGURE 2a, these several stations are represented by reference characters as follows: blank infeed station S gluing station S forming station S end panel infeed station 5,, and outfeed station S As shown in this latter figure, each preformed blank B is fed end- Wise from the blank infeed station S through the gluing station S to the forming station S As each blank travels through the gluing station, strips of cold glue G and hot glue G are applied to the end panel joining fiaps P and F of the blank. Upon arrival of each glue-coated blank at the forming station S the blank receives a pair of end panels P from the end panel infeed stations S These end panels are initially disposed in positions of mating relation to the blank, wherein the panels are located over the central, bottom wall forming panel P of the blank, just inboard of the score lines L along opposite edges of the latter panel. Thereafter, the blank and its mating end panels are forced downwardly into a forming cavity (not shown in FIGURE 2a) during which the side wall forming panels P of the blank are folded upwardly about opposite ends of the end panels P and the adhesively coated end panel joining flaps P and E of the blank are folded inwardly against the outer surfaces of the end panels, thereby to adhesively secure the blank to the end panels. The cover forming panels P on the blank and the flaps F on the end panels are not folded about their respective score lines L and L during this folding operation, whereby at the conclusion of the forming operation, the adhesively joined blank B and end panels P form a partially completed container structure of the kind designated by the reference character C. This partially completed container structure remains in the forming cavity at the end of the forming operation, just referred to, and is ejected from the cavity to the outfeed station S during the formation of the next container structure C. Upon entering the outfeed station, each container structure C is conveyed from the machine.

We proceed now with a description of the container forming machine 10. To aid the reader in following the ensuing description of the machine, there is set forth below a table wherein the several figures of the drawings are grouped according to the parts of the machine illustrated thereby.

(1) General organization of machine FIGURES l, 2, 3a and 3b. (2) Blank infeed station FIGURES 1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4,

S 5, 6 b, 7 and 8.

FIGURES 1, 20, 3a, 6a, 9,

10, ll, 13, and 13a.

FIGURES 1, 20, 3a, 6a, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21.

FIGURES 1, 20, 3a, ll, 19,

(3) Gluing station S (4) Forming station S (5) End panel infeed sta- (7) Electrical and pneumatic systems FIGURE 29.

GENERAL MACHINE ORGANIZATION Considering the machine generally, the latter will be seen to comprise a main rectangular supporting frame 12 and a pair of cross frames 14 extending laterally out from opposite sides of the main frame, adjacent one end of the latter frame. The blank infeed station S gluing station S forming station S and the outfeed station S are located on the main frame 12, at positions spaced therealong. The blank infeed stations S; are located on the cross frames 14. The infeed station S comprises a storage magazine 16 for containing a supply of the preformed cardboard blanks B and an infeed mechanism 18 for successively feeding the blanks from the magazine to the gluing station S At the gluing station is a feed mechanism 20 which receives each blank emerging from the infeed station S and conveys the blank through the gluing station to the forming station S The gluing station S also includes a glue applicator mechanism 24 including a pair of cold glue applicators 26 and a pair of hot glue applicators 28 for applying to each blank, as the latter travels through the gluing station, the strips of cold and hot glue G and 6 respectively. The forming station S includes a forming mechanism 30 including a forming die 32 having a vertical forming cavity opening through the top and bottom of the die, and a forming mandrel or ram 34 located above the forming die 32 and movable between a lower, extended position wherein the lower, leading end of the ram projects into the forming cavity in the forming die 32, and an upper retracted position, wherein the lower leading end of the ram is retracted out of the cavity. Each end panel infeed station 8., includes an elongate storage magazine 36 for containing a supply of the preformed end panels P and an infeed mechanism 38 for successively feeding the end panels from the respective magazine into the forming station S to a position of mating relation to a blank B at the forming station. The outfeed station 5 comprises an outfeed conveyor 40 which receives each partially completed container structure C from the forming station S and conveys the container structure from the machine.

Briefly, during operation of the container forming machine 10, the infeed mechanism 18 at the blank infeed station S successively ejects the preformed cardboard blanks B from the blank storage magazine 16 to the gluing station S The feed mechanism 20 at the gluing station conveys each blank through the gluing station to an initial position at the forming station S wherein the blank extends across the open top of the forming cavity in the forming die 32, between the latter and the then retracted forming mandrel 34, and the bottom forming panel P of the blank overlies the cavity. During its passage through the gluing station S just prior to its entrance into the forming station S the blank is coated with the cold and hot glue G and G At this stage in the operation of the machine, therefore, there is situated in the initial forming position at the forming station S a glue-coated blank B. The end panel infeed mechanisms 38 are effective to position a pair of end panels P in mating relation to this blank, wherein the end panels overlie the bottom wall forming P of the blank, just inboard of the score lines L along opposite edges of the bottom forming panel. The forming mechanism 30 at the forming station S is now activated to drive the forming mandrel 34 downwardly to its extended position within the forming cavity in the forming die 32. During this extension of the mandrel, the latter drives the pair of end panels downwardly into initial mating engagement with the underlying blank and thereafter drives the mating blank and end panels into the forming cavity. During this movement of the blank and end panels into the forming cavity, the side wall forming panels P of the blank are folded upwandly about opposite ends of the end panels and the glue-coated flaps P and F on the blank are folded inwardly against the outer surfaces of the end panels, in the manner explained earlier, thereby to effect adhesive bonding of the flaps to the end panels and form a partially completed container structure C. This container structure remains within the forming die during the subsequent upward return of the forming mandrel 34 to its retracted position to await the next glue-coated blank from the gluing station S When this next blank arrives at its initial forming position at the forming station S the mandrel 34 again descends to force the latter blank and its mating end panels P into the forming cavity to form another container structure C. As this latter container structure is forced downwardly, through the forming die, it engages the upstanding cover forming panels P ,on the first container structure and thereby ejects the latter structure through the lower end of the die. The first container strucure then drops onto the outfeed conveyor and is conveyed from the machine.

As noted earlier, the container forming machine 10 is adapted to operate on preformed cardboard blanks B and end panels P of different sizes, to form container structure C of different capacities. To this end, the machine is equipped with a changeover mechanism including mechanisms at the blank infeed station S the gluing station S the forming station S and the end panel infeed stations 5., which may be operated in unison to condition the machine to accept blanks and end panels of different sizes. The container forming machine 10 will now be described in greater detail.

Blank infeed station S The blank storage magazine 16at the blank infeed station comprises a pair of upstanding wall members 42 and 44 which are disposed in spaced parallel planes extending lengthwise of the machine frame 12. The lower edge portions of these wall members are secured, as by welding, to the inner, confronting surfaces on the upstanding flanges 46 of a pair of angles 48 on the machine frame 12. These angles form main supporting members on the frame which extend from a cross member 12a on the infeed end of the frame to a cross member 12b on the frame, just beyond the forming station S The ends of the angles 48 are fastened to the cross members 12a and 12b by bolts 50 which extend through slots in the cross members, as shown, whereby the spacing between the angles, and, thereby, also the spacing between the wall members 42 and 44 of the magazine 16, may be adjusted. The upper end of the left-hand magazine wall member 42 in FIGURES 7 and 8 is turned outwardly to form a horizontal supporting shelf 42a. The outer edge of this shelf is preferably supported on the frame 12 by braces 52 which are secured to the frame by bolt and slot connections 54, whereby the braces may be adjusted relative to the frame. Along the forward edge of the well member 42, that is, the edge of the wall member adjacent the gluing station S is an outwardly directed, reinforcing flange 56. Along the forward edge of the opposite wall member 44 is an inwardly directed locating flange 58 for locating the blanks B in the magazine 16 in the endwise direction of the blanks, as will appear presently. This inwardly directed flange has a wear strip 60 welded thereto.

Extending crosswise of the machine frame 12, between the infeed station S and the gluing station S is a horizontal bridge 62 comprising an angle having a rear depending vertical flange 64 which seats against the forward surfaces of the reinforcing flange 56 and the 10- cating flange 58 on the magazine wall members 42 and 44, respectively. The ends of the bridge 62 are secured to the machine frame 12 by upstanding supports 66 which support the bridge in a horizontal position, a distance above the frame. The magazine wall flanges 56 and 58 are secured to the bridge flange 64 by bolts 68 which extend through slots in the bridge flange to permit adjustment of the spacing between the wall members 42 and 44, in the manner explained above.

Mounted on each of the main frame angles 48 are a pair of Supporting guides 70. As shown best in FIGURE 3b, the guides on the two frame angles are aligned later- 

